The invention relates to squeezable semi-rigid plastic "drink bottles" for storing water, juice, or the like with nozzles through which the liquid can be ejected by squeezing the bottle. The invention relates more particularly to an insulative housing for such a drink bottle.
Squeezable "drink bottles" formed of semi-rigid plastic material, with nozzles through which stored liquid can be ejected by squeezing the body of the bottle, or sucking through the nozzle or straw, have become very popular in recent years. Such drink bottles are commonly sold either alone or filled with ice and a beverage such as a soft drink. Typically, the cost of the drink bottle might be $1.00 and the cost of the bottle filled with ice and beverage might be $1.49, with additional refills of ice and beverage being available for $0.49 each. Such drink bottles typically are composed of high density polyethylene plastic material, the wall thickness of which is approximately 0.015 inches. The thermal insulation properties of the plastic wall are poor, so the ice will melt much faster on a warm day than is desirable. Such drink bottles frequently are re-used many times by re-filling them with ice and water, juice, or soft drink for use at sporting events, on hikes, on bicycle rides, etc. The market for such drink bottles requires that they be inexpensive. Because of this requirement, until now no one has been able to provide a practical, effective, insulative housing for squeezable "drink bottles" other than thick opaque foam sleeves or the like.
Various kinds of art work, such as company trademarks and logos, and graphic designs are commonly silk screened onto the outer surface of drink bottles. It is not practical to provide the desirable range of artwork on the above-mentioned insulative sleeves.
There is an unmet need for an inexpensive, thermally insulative housing for a semi-rigid, flexible, plastic squeezable drink bottle, which is compatible with the artwork that is required to make an aesthetically pleasing product.